More than a third of girls in school uniform have been sexually harassed in public

The data shows 35% of girls have received unwanted sexual attention or contact such as being groped, stared at, catcalled and wolf-whistled while wearing their school uniform in public (Image: Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

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The poll of 1,004 girls aged 14-21 also found that one in seven girls had been followed while in uniform, while 8% said they had been filmed or photographed by a stranger without their permission, or someone had taken a photograph up their school skirt.

Some 37% of the girls questioned said they had been been sexually harassed while travelling to or from school.

Jess, a 16-year-old from Glasgow, shared one such experience. She explained: "When I was 15, I was in school uniform and sat on a train and this guy kept trying to put his hand on my leg.

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The charity is calling on the government to recognise harassment in public as a form of gender-based violence in its strategy to end violence against women and girls.

Tanya Barron, chief executive at Plan International UK, said, "It is shocking and deeply concerning that girls, many of whom are clearly of school age because they are in uniform, are being targeted and sexually harassed by perpetrators in the street.

"It's simply not acceptable that girls as young as 12 are being wolf-whistled at in public, touched against their will, stared at or even followed. This disgraceful behaviour needs to be called out and stopped."